OF THE national honours that were this week formally bestowed upon more than 100 Jamaicans who are deemed to have made significant contributions to their country, perhaps the one that carried the greatest symbolism was the Order of Jamaica (OJ) received by Carolyn Gomes.

Dr Gomes is the executive director of Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ), the human-rights group which she helped to launch at the turn of the decade, and of which she was the first chairperson.

She gave up a potentially lucrative medical practice to advocate on behalf of the poor and dispossessed after witnessing a case of blatant police brutality. A decade on, not only has she scored significant successes on behalf of people who might otherwise have been unnoticed victims of the state, but contributed to a fuller awakening of public consciousness as to the fundamental rights and freedoms that people should expect in a democratic state, notwithstanding their class, creed or station in life.

Looking at the larger picture

It is true that, as is sometimes the case with human-rights advocates, many in the society may question some of the causes and personalities for which Dr Gomes and her organisation may assume advocacy. They may even, at times, question their motives.

There is the larger picture, however. It is better, we feel, to err on the side of embracing the cause that may prove, ultimately, to have been wrong, rather than assuming the inviolability of those who exercise power, which they may use to excess, to the detriment of the individual. Encroachment on the rights of the individuals tend to lead to a loss of freedom of the society. In that regard, Dr Gomes and JFJ are strictly relevant.

However, neither Dr Gomes nor JFJ were the first ones or continue to be the only ardent advocates for human rights, and especially the causes of the poor and underprivileged.

Indeed, we are sure that in accepting her OJ, Dr Gomes would have reflected on the efforts of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) and early human-rights stalwarts such as Dennis Daley and Flo O'Connor.

Forerunners of the cause

In the 1970s and 1980s with Mr Daley as chairman and Ms O'Connor as executive director, the IJCHR's predecessor, the Jamaica Council for Human Rights (JCHR), was an aggressive advocate of inner-city youths who were victims of police excess. Then, as now, the council organised legal-aid clinics and pursued cases on behalf of death-row inmates. Indeed, we dare say that rulings like Pratt and Morgan by the Privy Council might not have been possible without the advocacy of the JCHR.

Those who care to read the archives or remember anything from even two decades ago will recall how villified Ms O'Connor used to be and the derision that used to be spewed at Mr Daley and other members of the JCHR. Maybe they were ahead of their time or that the society was ill-prepared for their advocacy. Whatever the reason, they gained little traction beyond those whose cases they pursued.

Things, happily, have changed for the better. Before it is too late, the Jamaican state might deem it fit formally to recognise these pioneers, and not least Ms O'Connor.

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